MY FIRST MARKET STALL Sunday 15 June @ Barton Marina Artisan Market

I had wanted to run my own stall for a while, but I always put it off... what if my work wasn't good enough, what if nobody was interested, what if I didn't sell anything!

Well last month I finally plucked up the courage and signed up to attend Barton Marina Artisan Market. I had even tried talking myself out of it a few days before, but I’m so glad I didn’t… because what a great success it was!

I had taken my latest collection 'Simply Paradise' which was made up of 6 original framed seascape paintings, together with mounted and framed prints of the originals. I had some abstract designs with me for show too, so people could see the abstract work as well as the seascapes.

It started off great, I had lots of people visit the stall, admiring the artwork, asking questions, taking leaflets and enquiring about commissions, so I was pretty happy with how the day was going.

I went to get my name out there and meet new people, I didn’t go with the mindset that I was necessarily going to sell anything, I was simply showing up to ‘network’ if you like.

I then made my first sale, to a lovely couple who purchased 'Indigo drift'. I was so happy to have made 1 sale that I wasn't bothered if I didn't sell anything else for the rest of the day.

I then sold a second painting and couldn't quite believe it. By the end of the day, I had sold all original paintings. I even had people come back to purchase paintings that had already since sold, which felt so surreal.

It was such a lovely day, meeting lots of other small business owners and meeting people who enjoyed art as much as me, to that feeling at the end of the day that it had been a success. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it… well maybe not the part being 6 months pregnant at the time and being on my feet in the sun all day haha, but apart from that, it was a great success!

It has certainly made me more confident, and I am already looking to do another market stall this Christmas – I say, that may be a bit optimistic as I will have a 2-month-old this Christmas!

But, the moral of the story, push yourself out of your comfort zone and do things that you wouldn’t necessarily do, you may be surprised, I certainly was!

Myah Mae x